Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 Review – The Best Spider-Man Game Yet

Fourteen long years have passed since the released of the much beloved Spider-Man 2, and since then we have gotten countless Spider-Man titles that could never quite live up to the benchmark that Spider-Man 2 had set. From the fun story

Story

With great power comes great responsibility, the dying the words of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben Parker. We all know those words and have heard them with every Spider-Man game. We’ve seen it time and time again, an ordinary person gains extraordinary powers. The hero has a tragic event that changes them forever and sets them on a path of discovery. You know, the origin story we have seen countless time with many superhero introductions. Thankfully this isn’t that kind of game.

Taking a page out of Spider-Man Homecoming, Peter Parker has already been the friendly web-swinging neighborhood hero for nearly eight full years. Being Twenty-three years old, we have a protagonist that has a large amount of experience under his belt. However, at the start of the game its made quite clear that while Spider-Man may have his hero life under control, it’s his other half, Peter Parker, where we see our hero struggle. Between trying to keep a roof over his head or helping out an old lady cross the street it’s clear to the player that the hero life always comes first before Peter Parker’s life.

The take on the story is a rather interesting direction. While other superhero games tend to focus on, well being a superhero game, here we see a side of a story that we rarely see, the story of the person behind the mask. There’s plenty of scenes throughout the game that has you go to work, dates, and even help Aunt May out at the shelter. While this may sound like a “bore”, it adds a whole depth to Peter Parker’s character. We get an understanding of why we are doing the things we do in the game, and much like the comics, it allows us to connect with Spiderman because it makes him an easier character to relate to. Despite having these incredible abilities, Peter Parker at the end of the day is just like the rest of us. A man trying to make ends meet.

Of course, there’s far more to the story than just that, we just thought we would touch on a small part of it and keep the rest of it spoiler free. We will say that if your expecting an action-packed story with some of your favorite Spider-Man foes then be very very excited as this is perhaps one of the best superhero stories that you’ll find in a game.

Gameplay

Going back to Spider-man 2, the truth of the matter is the game wasn’t exactly good when it came to factors of sound design, story, and even boss fight mechanics. Yet to this day its still regarded as one of the best open world titles and this is mostly due to the fact that the way Spidey controlled at the time was something we have never seen or felt before. This is mostly thanks to the fast, fluid, and well-controlled web-swinging system that made its revolutionary debut with this release. The number of hours wasted just roaming around the city as Spiderman, swinging through tight alleyways and reaching insane heights only to skydive straight back to the ground and do it all over again. It was a stupid waste of time, but one that I would definitely go back without hesitation to do all over again. And this here is the million dollar question that fans have been asking about Marvel Spider-Man; Does this game make you feel like Spider-man? Oh yes, yes it does.

It’s clear that Insomniac games did their homework when it came to creating Marvel Spider-Man’s well crafted web-swinging system. For those wanting to know, the swinging system is indeed physic base like Spider-Man 2. This means that when web-swinging through the city, Spidey’s webbing sticks to the nearest building, versus connecting to thin air. This allows a more “natural” look that offers a satisfying swing, similar to his movie counterpart. On top of this, we also have the ability to wall run, launch, and swing shot to locations all at the ease of a few buttons that never break the flow of traveling. Don’t be surprised if you end up spending hours just swinging around the city enjoying the gorgeous sites.

Combat is also in a constant flow. Similar to the combat style that Batman Arkham offers, we have a combat system that consists of building up combos and dodging last second to counter. While at the start of the game it starts out rather basic, as you progress and unlock new suits and new gadgets, different combinations of attacks and abilities can be paired together. For example, I can equip Spider-Man with gadgets aimed to instantly web all enemies and then pair this up with a special ability that would chain link electrocute them. There’s also a skill tree with unlockables, however, don’t go in expecting something deep as it seems more of something just thrown in there for the sake of having.

The only true major flaw when it came to the gameplay was the oddly out of place “mini-games”. These mini-games would often come right in the middle of a cutscene tasking player to either reroute power on a grid by rotating selected paths or to match specific patterns. They just felt unneeded and broke the flow of the story when done mid-cutscene.

Open World

The beauty of New York shines in Insomniac Games recreation. In addition to the insane amount of details done with character models, this is perhaps one of the best looking open world titles out there. Everything seems to have been given a great amount of care to make them as detailed with life as possible. While you’ll be spending a good chunk of time in the air high up in the city large beautiful skyscrapers, down below there is another world filled with life. Tons of pedestrians flood the busy car filled streets of New York City. When you walk around the city, they’ll react to you. Some NPCs love you, while others hate you. That’s one of the little touches you’ll notice as it makes the city feel as if it isn’t just made of one type of individuals, but indeed many as it should be. However, don’t be surprised if you see the same NPC or vehicles in the same area, an issue that had plagued many open world titles. Regardless, this is easily one of the most impressive version of New York City in a video game.

In addition to New York beauty, there’s also quite a bit amount of side activities that you can do. These range from random street crimes that are infinitely available, to side-story missions that’ll have some surprise characters. Whatever it may be, there’s easily enough content to hold you over for a good ten to twenty hours on top of the lengthy story.

Conclusion

Insomniac Games have created an absolute masterpiece. While we had our concerns at first, we are now fully confident that the Spider-Man franchise is in safe hands, and we look forward to the sequels that are surely coming. This is truly a game that must be experienced by everyone and is easily Spidey’s best adventure yet.